Charles Davis: Who do the Minnesota Vikings Take with the Eighth Pick?

Thurn asks Davis about the direction the Minnesota Vikings should take with the No. 8 pick in the NFL Draft:

“I think we all need mock drafts, whether we are asked to or not. You know how it is Jeff, everyone has a mock. I get asked to do a number of them for my employer, NFL Network. In my latest one, I gave Minnesota, a linebacker at No. 8. I didn’t go quarterback. I think it’s passed to put a quarterback in there. I look at what they have. Matt Cassel being re-signed, Christian Ponder is on the roster. You can get in and out of the huddle. You can line up and look like an NFL team. Whether you can realize all your dreams with those guys, well, part of that is what you build up around them. I think eventually the quarterback will be addressed. I just don’t know if you go at No. 8 with this team that quarterback is the right way to go considering their offseason moves. I would think defense first, myself. I gave them C.J. Mosley out of Alabama. I could see Anthony Barr from UCLA being a possibility. I just think with a brand new head coach in Mike Zimmer, with the recent past of taking Ponder at 12, when let’s face it, I think that’s kind of an inflation of his rating. I just can’t imagine going in that direction so soon for Rick Spielman the general manager.”

The Vikings own eight draft picks. A first and second round pick, two third round picks, a fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh round pick.

Davis on the top quarterbacks in the draft, Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, and Johnny Manziel?

“I think that will depend on the team. My order of those guys, is one, Manziel, two, Bridgewater, and three, Bortles. That’s my personal one, two, three on the whole thing, and for me picking Manziel, it goes against who I am in a lot of ways. If anybody knows me, I more of the orderly type person. A to B to C. Johnny Manziel isn’t even close to that. He’s going to go whatever direction he wants to go, but I do think he can take coaching if you do it the right way with him. I don’t think you can force him to do things. If you tell him, do not throw the ball to this person in this coverage to this spot, he’s going to say, ‘let’s see about that because I’ve done it before.’ So you have to know how to work with guys like that. That’s why I always compare him to a Roger Staubach, to a Fran Tarkenton, to a Brett Favre, to a Steve Young. Guys that didn’t do it conventionally by the way their staff or coaches wanted it, but those coaches and staff learned to live with it because the benefits were so great when you learned a couple errors here and there, but overall, and every guy I mentioned, has one thing in common, they all played in the Super Bowl. Every guy I mentioned. Tarkenton went three times and didn’t win it. Young won it, Staubach won it a couple of times, Favre won it. So, does that mean you let him do what he wants? No, I’m talking about learning structures, different things, but knowing when to break the rules, and being able to live with that quarterback knowing when to break the rules. That’s what I think Manziel offers. Bortles is the classic looking guy; I think he has the farthest to go overall out of these prospects. Bridgewater, I think I could plug him in and play him right now. The thing I worry about him is his frame, but I don’t know that anyone has looked at him and said, ‘but that’s one tough kid, I mean he played with a broken left wrist, a high ankle sprain to beat Rutgers to get into the BCS. Broken wrist still existed, he plays against Florida, takes that huge hit from Jon Bostic from early in the game, bounces up, MVP of the game. I think he’s a tough kid, kind of like the movie, “The Replacements,” he’s wiring strong and mentally tough, so let’s not underestimate Teddy Bridgewater.”

The NFL Draft begins Thursday two weeks from today.

To hear more of Davis’ interview with Thurn, listen below:

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Thurn can be heard weekdays on ESPN 99.1 from 3 to 6 p.m.

*For comments or story ideas, email Sam at tastadsam@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samtastad.

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